- Medicaid expansion a tough sell to governors of both parties, By N.C. Aizenman and Karen Tumulty, July 12, 2012, Washington Post: “While the resistance of Republican governors has dominated the debate over the health-care law following last month’s Supreme Court decision to uphold it, a number of Democratic governors are also quietly voicing concerns about a key provision to expand coverage. At least seven Democratic governors have been noncommittal about their willingness to go along with expanding their states’ Medicaid programs, the chief means by which the law would extend coverage to millions of Americans with incomes below or near the poverty line…”
- Health law ruling reveals governors’ split, By Richard Wolf, July 9, 2012, USA Today: “The Supreme Court’s decision upholding President Obama’s health care law but potentially limiting its scope has created a stark political divide among the nation’s governors. A 50-state survey by USA TODAY shows only Republican governors are refusing to expand Medicaid and only Democrats are vowing to expand it following the court’s ruling that states cannot be penalized for failing to enlarge the program. More than half the governors are undecided…”
- How each state will approach health care act, July 12, 2012, USA Today: “States are sharply divided on how – or whether – to implement the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act after it was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. The health care law was enacted in March 2010, but its two major expansions of health coverage don’t begin until January 2014…”
- Lines are drawn over opting out of Medicaid plan, By Abby Goodnough, July 12, 2012, New York Times: “In the weeks since the Supreme Court ruled that states could opt out of a plan to vastly expand Medicaid under President Obama’s health care law, several Republican governors have vowed to do just that, attacking the expansion as a budget-busting federal power grab. But it may not be so easy. A battle is brewing here in Florida, where Gov. Rick Scott took to national television soon after the ruling to announce that he would reject the expansion. Advocates for the poor and some players in the health care industry – especially hospitals, a powerful political lobby – intend to push back…”
- For some states, Medicaid expansion may be a tough fiscal call, By Christine Vestal, July 11, 2012, Stateline: “Skeptics say the Republican governors who have pledged not to take part in the health-care law’s Medicaid expansion are just posturing, and that eventually they will succumb to the lure of federal dollars. They note that several GOP governors initially refused stimulus money on political principle, but eventually accepted it because their states were desperate for help…”
- Federal health care law would cost Texas $11 billion less than expected, state official says, Associated Press, July 13, 2012, Washington Post: “Fully implementing the federal health care law and adding 2 million people to Medicaid would cost Texas $11 billion less than previously estimated, the state’s health and human services commissioner said Thursday. Tom Suehs said it would cost $15 billion to $16 billion over 10 years if Texas fully implemented the law. That’s 42 percent less than his initial estimate of $26 billion to $27 billion to expand Medicaid to include poor single adults and more children. A study by the federal, nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the additional cost for Medicaid expansion is 2.8 percent more than what an individual state would normally spend on the program…”
- W.Va. officials ponder Medicaid expansion, By Kate Long, July 11, 2012, Charleston Gazette: “Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has not decided whether West Virginia will expand its Medicaid program under federal health reform, Medicaid Commissioner Nancy Atkins said Wednesday. About 120,000 uninsured West Virginians stand to gain health insurance if the state expands its program as prescribed by the federal law. State officials are ‘having discussions on this question every day,’ Atkins said. In June, when the Supreme Court ruled the Affordable Care Act constitutional, they also surprised West Virginia officials by ruling that Washington cannot take away all of a state’s Medicaid funding if a state refuses to expand coverage to people who earn up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, as prescribed by the law…”
- Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell might reject Medicaid expansion, By Sean Cockerham, July 12, 2012, Miami Herald: “Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell is expressing ‘serious concerns’ about letting the federal government pay for medical care of more than 30,000 lower-income Alaskans, saying it would also result in state costs he’s hesitant to take on. Parnell refused requests for an interview this week. But he provided a written statement in which he laid out reservations with allowing the Medicaid expansion in the federal health care law. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld most of the law last month but said the stateshave a choice on the expansion of Medicaid eligibility to anyone with an income up to 133 percent of the poverty level, among the major parts of the law…”
Day: July 13, 2012
NPR Series on Poverty in America
Poverty in America: The struggle to get ahead, series homepage, By Pam Fessler, July 10, 2012, National Public Radio.
Kids Count Report – Nevada
Number of Nevada children living in poverty climbs, By Trevon Milliard, July 10, 2012, Las Vegas Review-Journal: “One out of every five Nevada children lives in poverty, marking the highest youth poverty rate in the state’s recent history, according to the newly released 2011 installment of an annual report that tracks the well-being of children. ‘It’s not a surprising finding but a disappointing one,’ Stephen Brown, executive director of Nevada Kids Count, said Tuesday. The increase is a marked one from 2001, when one out of 10 children lived in poverty. The report charted improvements in other areas: the rates of teen births, infant mortalities, child deaths, teen deaths and high school dropouts all declined, according to the report, which is based on statistics obtained from numerous public agencies and state sources…”